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Given the host of collaborations this trio have accumulated between them, it was perhaps inevitable that they would one day meet themselves. Well established within the reggae hall of fame, Sly and Robbie are also famed for their production work with an array of disparate musicians, including Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, Gilberto Gil and Suggs. Amp Fiddler has enjoyed an equally distinguished career, albeit largely in the shadow of Funkadelic’s George Clinton. He finally came to prominence as a serious talent in his own right following his 2004 debut, Waltz of a Ghetto Fly.

Launching a new album series for Strut, the release marks a shift for the label away from compilations and into studio recordings. Whilst the moniker of Inspiration Information is slightly worn by now, it is a refreshing concept that sees artists and producers coupled with their musical heroes for an intensive five-day session intended to produce spontaneous fruits. The obvious danger of the project rests with the possibility that the finished recordings will sound like nothing more than polished jams, and while this pitfall is avoided here, one feels that the album could have benefited from the extra time which would have allowed for the development of its ideas.

Fiddler’s trademark sound is in place from the start on ‘Crazy Day’, where warm Rhodes overtones and rounded bass tones are complimented with the hint of a Brazilian cuíca drum. On ‘Blackhouse (Paint the White House Black)’ he taps the current wave of optimism sweeping across America, singing in his characteristic drawl that ‘it’s time for us to brag about unity, transform hatred into peace in our community’.

The sound of the one-drop features on ‘U’ and ‘Lonely’ to good effect, but lacking in distinction from any number of other reggae tracks, and it is perhaps this caution that clouds what is an otherwise strong set. One other disappointment is the lack of disco, which as shared musical heritage, could have helped spark more of a sense of experimentation.